iPhone Picture Dump

   I love being able to take pictures with my phone, but sometimes the pictures get lost on there.  These are in no particular order, so in some my kids look really little.

This is when Sammi pulled our toy shelf over onto herself.  Luckily she didn't even need stitches, which was pretty amazing.  Poor little thing.

This was another incident when Emerson pushed her into the corner of the wall and cut her head open.  Luckily Grandpa was able to take us to his office at 9 pm and glue it.

A rare treat.  She has been a much worse napper than Emerson.  She just runs on less sleep.  I can hardly ever get her to take a nap, and when I do she is up talking to herself and reading herself books in her room until 11 pm.  So most of the time she just goes without and then goes to bed at 8:00 and sleeps until 8:00 the next morning.

This is her in what she calls her Rapunzel dress.  Obviously she thinks she is very gorgeous.

This is her favorite outfit.

It must be tiring looking so gorgeous all the time.

Documentation that I am fun.  I let them go outside to play in the snow.

E making a snow angel

The girl loves to be beautiful and sits still so well to have her hair curled.  It's a treat because her hair is stick straight.

This was later the same day.  She hijacked the neighbor's bike and helmet, and somehow her pretty ended up clipped to the chin strap.  It is very serious business, as you can tell.

And...much later the same day.  She went from being the World's Most Adorable Girl to the World's Homeliest Girl.  That orange and black frosted pumpkin-shaped donut didn't help matters.

The kids playing doctor at our last COSI trip in Ohio.

Sammi decided to sit and read to Emerson while he was asleep.  It was probably the most attentive he's ever been to her.

This is E's drawing of himself being Wall-E for Halloween

Sometimes Preschool really takes it out of you.

Sammi thinks this is her Princess Sofia dress.  She twirls and twirls every time she wears it.

I secretly snapped this picture one day of Daddy playing princesses with Sammi in her room.  It melted my heart.

This is the kids playing "Collection".  It comes from Ariel's collection in her grotto.  Basically, they just grab a bunch of crap and pile it on the stairs and then pretend to sleep.  Whatever keeps them entertained. :)

Sammi's first big-girl ponytail!  Unfortunately it was short-lived because she got her hair cut the next day.  I love her hair cut, but it's just shorter and layered.

Sammi has been into Angelina Ballerina lately.  We had this leotard from last year at Christmas when we visited from Ohio and forgot swimsuits and this was the closest thing we could find after looking at all the stores, and the tutu was a cute party favor from a friend's birthday party.  So luckily they appeased her.  And of course the Ariel shoes complete the outfit.

Emerson is in ice-skating lessons this winter.  It honestly started out as just something to get us out of the house so I could talk to my good friend from Residency every week since her son was enrolled too, but E has gotten amazingly good and really enjoys it now.  His little body on the ice is hilarious because he's so tiny!  Not to mention his tiny skates.  I'm really glad we had him do it.

This is the kids on Valentine's Day with their little I Love You presents from Mom and Dad.  We got Sammi some ballet slippers, and Emerson a new Rescue Bot.  They were both thrilled.  Most of the time they are such good buddies, but that doesn't mean they never fight.  Unfortunately they do...and usually when Mommy is hungry and therefore very grumpy.

This is from forever ago in the summer when Sammi was even smaller.  I got out of the shower and saw her sitting on my bed like this.  I hate to have a picture of my unmentionables, but she is so smart to know how to wear it!

A rare picture of E looking kind of at the camera and smiling his darling little smile.

 

Pinterest

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.  And it's not what you think.  I don't hate it because it takes up too much time just ogling over every single idea.  I hate it because literally every pin, (and I LITERALLY mean LITERALLY in the purest form) has the 7 ULTIMATE MOST AWESOMEST TIPS TO OUTDO EVERY PERSON YOU'VE EVER COME ACROSS AND MAKE THEM FEEL INADEQUATE AND THEREFORE REASSURE YOURSELF THAT YOUR SAD LITTLE LIFE IS WORTH SOMETHING BY FREAKING DIY-ING EVERYTHING IN YOUR HOME WHILE TRAINING FOR A MARATHON AND COOKING ZERO FAT MEALS THAT YOUR KIDS ALWAYS EAT AND REDOING YOUR FRONT DOOR AND HANDSEWING COSTUMES FOR YOUR 1-YEAR-OLD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY AND 50 OF HER CLOSEST FRIENDS WHILE YOU'VE GOT SOME HOMEMADE YOGURT PROOFING IN THE CROCKPOT IN YOUR FRIDGE UNTIL DAY 12 WHEN IT'S FINALLY READY TO EAT. Pin now, read later.

Sometimes I am inspired by Pinterest and I find really good ideas on there.  That is why I love it.  The irony is not lost on me though when my kids are tapping me saying, "Mom! Mom! Come play with us! Mom! Can we have a snack?" while I am impatiently shooing them away so I can repin beauties like 100 of the Healthiest Super Snacks for Your Toddlers or How to Teach Your Kids to Stop Whining or How To Show Your Kids You Really Care.

I would just like a little moderation.  To be honest, I'm betting the chicken entitled, "HOLY COW.  THE BEST. CHICKEN. EVER." is really not the best chicken ever.  I bet it's tasty.  It's probably worth making once.  I'm betting it's not going to make me take my careful, purposeful compilation of recipes from 4 years of college and 8 years of marriage out to the firepit in the back yard and burn it.  I'm kind of tired of salted caramel everything.  I don't think I'm going to take the time to learn to make fondant cupcakes that look like iPhone apps.  Because really, if you make them for age-appropriate teens, they are not going to eat them anyway because no teens eat in front of their friends, and if you make them for your toddler's birthday party because that's what they wanted, you've got bigger problems.  I would love to see a pin entitled, "Pretty Good Chicken."  (And I'm betting that would quickly morph in 2 pins or less to "Pretty Darn Good Chicken", then to "The Best Chicken Ever" to "The Ultimate Best Most Amazing Chicken...Never Make Another Chicken Recipe Again".)

I admit, I repin a lot of stuff.  I do.  I tend to pin in spurts once a week.  I will go for 7-10 days without checking it at all, and then I will pin 30 things.  It probably drives Followers crazy. I have repinned stuff that I will never make or do.  And I am just as guilty as the next person for feeling validated when I have 12 people repin my pin.  It's just when the panicked, reckless pinning has taken over that "the ULTIMATES!!!!!!!" lose their credibility.  I feel like sometimes people think the more things they pin, the better the mom they will be.

Most women I know are really great moms.  They have different talents and abilities and most are much more creative than I am.  I just think people tend to lose sight of the fact that they don't have to be (nor will they ever be) amazing at everything.  There is nothing wrong with simplicity.  It's ok to say that you are only going to plan a birthday party for your kids every other year because that's all you can handle.  It's ok to (heaven forbid!) BUY your cupcakes.  It's ok to not run marathons.  It's ok to make your kids the same thing for lunch every day because that is what they will eat and you are lucky to be able to switch around carrots and applesauce and sometimes the only fruit they get is fruit snacks, and sometimes it is healthy enough.  Sometimes enough is enough, and the things you do every day, just plugging along, not drawing attention to yourself, are the things that are the best for yourself and your family.  My ultimate message: don't let Pinterest get you down.

Happy Valentine's Day!

...From my little sillies to yours!

New haircut!

 This little girl got her first big-girl haircut.  It was getting past the point of Mommy's abilities.  She was quite thrilled with the result.  Maniacally so.

All About the Girl

Blah.  January is just so blah.  I feel bad for my children whose mother is too cold to take them outside to play in the dirty snow.  Or to want to go to the store.  And who probably lets them watch too much tv.

This little stinker does things that make me smile all the time.  I wanted to document them so that I always remember what she was like at two.

She adores these mini princess coloring pages.  She sorts them, takes turns with each crayon scribbling on each page, carries them around, distributes them to people then grabs them back before you can get attached.  She loves them.

I mentioned she was being difficult about naps, and one day she went down to the basement to play princesses and I noticed it had gotten very quiet.  Suspiciously, I crept down to find her fast asleep.

Nothing on the counter is sacred anymore.  She has figured out that if she just pushes a kitchen chair around the kitchen, she can reach anything.  Including some Oreos that were left out apparently.

Debating whether to be honest and show me.  "Maybe if I show her with a cute face she won't be mad?"

Feeling sheepish...

Angry I moved the chair and put the Oreos away.

We have gone through too many post-it notes in this house.  I can't keep them in the drawer that I'm used to keeping them in because she just finds them and scribbles on every single one.  Such sophisticated little scribbles though.

I love this picture for two reasons.  One, she is wearing her nightgown which she has dubbed her "'Punzel dress" (Rapunzel dress) and she is so openly thrilled with watching the Ariel in her music box twirl as it plays "Under the Sea".

It's so fun to have a girl who is utterly, completely, hopelessly ALL GIRL!

Christmas Morning

 Christmas morning was great.  Probably the most magical with kids so far.  We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with the Johnson side, going to see Monsters, Inc. in 3D (Sammi's favorite movie) and then went to get our traditional Chinese food...but it was by reservation only this year!  Never fear, though, we wouldn't let that dampen our Christmas Eve.  Dang it, not even that stupid Christmas Shoes song could ruin our evening.  We popped over to Robintino's and had some lovely Italian food instead.

Then we went to my parents' house and exchanged sibling gifts.  And I was extremely cuted out because the kids had picked out sibling gifts for each other at the dollar store.  It was hilarious to see what they picked.  Emerson selected a princess jump rope for Sammi, and she selected a plastic racing cockroach for him.  I would've loved to see her mental process on that one.  Then we came home, opened new Christmas pajamas, read from the scriptures, read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and got these cuties to bed.  After all, Santa was on his way!

We have never had a Christmas morning of our own on actual Christmas day, and we were pretty excited about it.  I think staying up with Ben after the kids were in bed, getting everything ready while watching a Christmas movie, is one of my favorite new memories.  Poor Santa spent a lot of time assembling Sammi's dollhouse, or so I heard.  The kids slept in, and we actually had to wake E up because we couldn't keep Sammi contained any longer.

So excited!  They were concerned that they had coal waiting for them in their stockings.

No coal to be found, but lots of egg nog taffy.  (Yuck.) Ben likes it though, and so does E, so there has been some Daddy tax and trading between the kids.

Transformers!

He hearts them.

How did Santa know that the Cowboy needed new boots!?

Santa finally brought E a Lego train of his very own.  He has been eyeing this one at the store and at his friend Isaac's house in Ohio.

This girl was thrilled and has disappeared for hours at a time to her room to play.

 Now, I'm not writing this to brag or to have you judge me for what my kids got for Christmas, but I wish I remembered everything I got when I was a kid, so I am writing a few favorites here for future reference.

Sammi:
-Dollhouse
-Mini Book of Mormon with cute cover
-Princess movies
-Ariel shoes
-Ariel music box
-Minnie Mouse dress up doll
-Pinkalicious books
-Princess Barbies (from Grandma & Grandpa J)
-Princess Bouncing Ball (from Uncle Scott & Aunt Ashley)
-Ariel blanket, personalized (from Sorenson cousins)
-Coloring books and stickers (from Grandpa Tom & Grandma Dixy)

Emerson:
-Transformers
-Mini Book of Mormon (When he opened his he said, "Oh! Now I can read about a Child of God in my head all by myself!")
-Cowboy boots
-Lego Train
-Pirate books
-Lego Hospital (from Grandma & Grandpa J)
-Bucky the Pirate Ship (from Grandma & Grandpa J)
-Lego Pirate Ship Game (from Uncle Scott & Aunt Ashley)
-Lightning McQueen blanket, personalized (from Sorenson cousins)
-Batman action figure (from Grandpa Tom & Grandma Dixy)

Ben and I also had a great Christmas.  We both agreed that this was the most magical Christmas so far.  It's so fun to have kids just the perfect age to enjoy everything with very few expectations.

After opening presents at our own house, my parents and sisters drove down to see the kids' loot and joined us for Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and ham and egg cups (from Our Best Bites...so dang good.)  Then they headed home and we visited the Christensen side and exchanged gifts with them.  We managed to catch all the married kids for at least a few minutes before rushing around to our respective in-laws' houses.  After visiting the Christensens, we headed to the Johnsons' house to be there for Uncle Brad's phonecall from Milwaukee.  We were really excited to talk to him, and it's hard to believe he only has like 8 months left of his mission!  He was extremely freaked out by how well Sammi talks.

After the phonecall, we had a lovely dinner of Honeybaked ham, and finished out the evening with Italian sodas and red velvet cupcakes.  Then we headed home to enjoy Christmas night and get the kids to bed after an exhausting but magical day.

Krinkrus

 Here is my picture dump of everything leading up to Christmas.  There is something so magical about having these little kids in our home.  I feel like I've been missing the magic of Christmas I experienced as a child, and I don't think anything can really bring that back except watching your own kids experience it.

Daddy made Emerson's dreams come true when he surprised him with a Christmas train that goes around the tree a few weeks before Christmas.  He said, "I've been waiting my whole life for one of these!"  4 1/2 years is a really long time to wait.  P.S. Doesn't Sammi look like her Dad with her cheesy smile?

For our annual homemade gifts with the Christensen side, I painted this picture of a stallion (as a joke) for Ben's brother, Joe.  We have an inside joke about stallions, so it would make more sense if you were in the know.

And Ben painted this picture of Cassadee Pope, winner of The Voice for our brother-in-law Troy, because he is not-so-secretly in love with her.

Opening our Christmas pajamas!

E is extremely pleased with his Jake pajamas and train stocking.

These elephant jammies kill me.  She was mighty pleased with her Ariel stocking.

I want to squeeze those piggies!

Proof that they like each other